Victim in fatal crash devoted to daughter

A memorial service for Brian "Tim" Jacobs, who died Thursday in a crash on I-83, is set for Sunday. (Submitted Photo)

Brian "Tim" Jacobs was a hard worker, proud father and all-around nice guy, according to one of his bosses.

"He was just a great person to have around," said Michaela Sterner of S&W Petroleum Services Inc. of Dillsburg. "We loved hearing his jokes and hearing him talk."

Jacobs, 46, of Wal Mar Drive in Franklin Township, was killed about 4:30 p.m. Thursday in a fiery three-truck crash on Interstate 83 northbound, just north of the North George Street exit (Exit 22), state police said.

An autopsy Friday morning determined he died of multiple blunt-force injuries as well as thermal injuries, according to the York County Coroner's Office, which has ruled the death accidental.

It's likely Jacobs -- known as both "Tim" and "Jake" -- died before fire consumed the work truck he was driving, the coroner's office said.

He was well-liked by co-workers and worked hard, according to Sterner.

"If you told him to do something, he did it," she said.

Proud dad: Jacobs' survivors include his fiancee, Becky Wickard, and their 2-year-old daughter Emma, according to his obituary.

Jacobs worked at S&W for about six years, Sterner said.

She and husband Clarence Sterner run S&W Petroleum Services, which they started in 1978. It's a family business, and Sterner said that family includes their employees.

Thursday night, the Sterners went to Jacobs' home to break the tragic news to Wickard.

"She kept saying how (Emma) is going to grow up not knowing her daddy," Sterner said.

The outgoing, talkative Jacobs had a favorite subject at work, according to Sterner -- Emma.

"He was so proud of his little girl," Sterner said. "He talked about her all the time."

His obituary states Emma "was the most important thing in his life."

A 1985 graduate of Northern High School, Jacobs wrestled and played football. He was to be inducted into the Northern wrestling hall of fame, according to the obituary.

The crash: Jacobs was driving an S&W service truck northbound, behind another S&W truck being driven by co-worker Gordon Myers, 64, of Lewisberry, according to state police.

Myers slowed down for a mattress on I-83, and Jacobs slowed too, police said.

But a tractor-trailer behind them failed to stop and crashed into the back of the truck Jacobs was driving, pushing it on top of the truck Myers was in, police said.

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant. Full Story